BOSNIAN LOVE CHARMS

The expressions for magic or spells in Bosnia are “sihir”, “čarka” or “magija”. We are all familiar that the word magic comes from the Persian word ” Magi” which was used to refer to the priests of the old Iranian religion, however what most of us do not know is that the Bosnian word “čarati” i.e. practice magic or čarka also comes from the Persian word "čare" i.e. "remedy, salvation, means".

Ritual involving the sun




When the sun starts setting behind a hill a girl looks at it and utters the following vow three times:



O ye, bright sun,

are you setting behind a hill,

with whom are you leaving me?

Leave me with my dear N.,

he doesn't love me,

he doesn't care for me.

With god's will I have placed three burdens on him;

first one is a toothache,

the second one is the pain of a woman giving birth

and the third is the pain that a man feels when Azrail rips his soul from his body.

Let him die, let him have a fit until he sees me.

Elif zalim lamim!



After that she blows in the direction of the sun three times.

Ritual involving a new moon




When a new moon appears a girl looking at it utters the prayer Ihlas three times and then the following vow:



O new moon, old man, young soldier,

make me as tall as a fir tree,

make me as white as a pearl,

so I can be pretty and dear to all

and to my N. the most beautiful and dearest!



After that she blows in the direction of the new moon three times.

Star ritual




Right after sunset, as soon as the stars appear, a girl takes a knife and sticks it into the ground under the roof of the house, at the location where drops of rain fall from the roof. While doing this she utters:



I'm not putting this knife into the ground,

but in Mujo's heart and liver,

in his 77 nerves,

88 joints (while uttering this she drives the knife harder into the ground),

and 99 bones.



After that she looks at the largest star in the sky and utters:



Small star by god my sister (she moves her hands away from the knife),

wherever you find my Mujo you shall possess him,

where you catch up to him you shall move him from his place,

strike him in his cowlick,

bring him to me!



Then she places her palms onto the ground and utters the following vow:



Dark earth by god my mother!

This vow should not grasp me nor you,

nor the encircled garden,

nor a planted tree,

nor a barren sheep,

nor a cow without a calf,

but my Mujo and his heart and liver,

his 77 nerves,

88 joints and his 99 bones.

He should die,

go crazy until he comes to me and until he talks to me!



Then she blows in the direction of the star and without turning around she goes home. Tomorrow morning, before sunup, she takes the knife out from the ground.

SIHIR AGAINST UNFAITHFUL HUSBAND

The women try to stop infidelity by a ritual washing of their underwear. A woman whose husband is unfaithful washes her panties and bras and throws them onto a bush of nacre (Ruta graveoles) so that they can dry out. She repeats that action a couple of times. It is believed that she will make his leave his lover with such a ritual.

Sihir with white chicken

For marital magic, different props are also used, such as parts of animal like the left wing of a bat or a chicken's head and tail end. When the man is frequently absent from the house and neglects his family then the woman uses magic in order to get him back. For that purpose she finds a white chicken, cuts her head off and then places the chicken's head on the right side of the door and the tail end on the left side. When the husband passes through such a door, she connects the two parts i.e. she pushes the beak into the tail end and utters:


As this beak stays in this tail end, so will you N.

Always stay with me, veledalin amin!

After that, the connected beak and tail end is buried in the yard under a small, fertile tree, such as an apple or pear.

SIHIR WITH URINE

Urine is another human excrete for which it is believed that it holds magical potential. When a woman wants to stimulate love feelings in a man, she pee's into a vessel and then uses her middle finger to touch the urine and dips three drops of that urine into the coffee that she will offer to the man she wants.

Sihir with sperm

After every intercourse the woman takes some sperm on her finger and rubs it onto her lover's collar, in an attempt to stimulate erotic thoughts in her partner. In such a way, it is believed, he will be overcome by passion and lust for that woman.

SIHIR FROM HATE

For a man and a woman to quarrel continuously one takes two small rags, a few blood drops and pieces of hair from a dog are placed into one and into the other a few drops of blood from a cat along with some cat hair. Both rags are tied into a knot and the following is uttered:

The quarrel of a dog and a cat shall afflict NN and NN.

Those rags are buried on two sides of the entrance door to the house or yard of that specific married couple.

LOVE ORAL CHARM

When a woman sees that her husband is angry she places her hands on her face and looks at him through her fingers without him noticing and utters three times:

Here comes my NN,
his mouth are a twig and my vagina his tongue,
from God amin veledalin amin.

Some women which practice this spell believe that it can soothe and calm even a man that found his wife in bed with another man.

MENSTRUAL BLOOD

In Bosnia, since the old days it was believed that women posses two sorts of blood; one runs through her veins and the other is the menstrual blood. The women use the first day of their monthly cycle to concoct powerful love spells by dipping a sugar cube in three drops of blood and placing it discretely into the man's cup of coffee. While doing this she utters:

In the same way I can't live without my blood
so also you will not be able to live without me!

Then she blows into the coffee and swallows her spit. After drinking that cup of coffee the man will be enchanted with that woman for 40 days. Besides this use, the menstrual blood can be dipped on some cloth and that cloth is then placed inside the husband's pillow. With this spell the marital passion is renewed and intensified which makes it last longer.

LOVE CHARM WITH THE VERSE IHLAS

When a girl wants love from a certain young man she pours a bit of water in her mouth, but doesn't swallow it, and in her mind she utters the verse Ihlas and then she utters:"Dear Lord connect me with NN and fulfil my will". After that she pours the water from her mouth into a juice or coffee which she will give to the young man to drink.

Charms with magic formula 1


To invoke the feelings of love in the person that one desires a string from his/her clothes needs to be pulled out and burned. While the string burns the following formula is repeated three times:
Ćuhum ćuti lehum leti
eyu beyu kulhuveyu
ehad allah kulhuvellah
then: "As the thread burns by fire so shall you burn with love for me!"

Charms with magic formula 2

Before going to sleep the girl turns her pillow 99 times and says:
Ćuhum ćuti lehum leti
eyu beyu kulhuveyu
ehad allah kulhuvallah
and then “I'm not turning my pillow but N's heart and mind for me!".

I'M LOOKING AT YOU THROUGH FIVE FINGERS ...

A girl which wants to spark attention in a man she fancies, she needs to look at him through the spread fingers of her right hand and then utter three times:

I'm looking at you through five fingers
and you are looking at me through five hearts,
veledalin amin!

The girl does it discretely taking care that he doesn't notice her, if he does the magic will not work.

Love charm with thorn apple



When the sun sets the girl takes a few stems of thorn apple (Datura stramonium) and throws it into the fire uttering:


Thorn apple divides thorn apple,

šendeli bendeli,

ni šendeli ni bendeli,

NN will go crazy after me!



then she turns the palms of her hands towards the fire and utters:



"Fire, by God a sister,

this spell hasn't been tied either to me nor you

but to my loved NN and his 77 veins and 88 joints.



After that the girl goes to bed.

Ritual with a frog

To make a man come visit her, a woman would perform a ritual with a frog. The woman places a live frog inside the ash where there is a fire burning and covers the frog with a metal dish uttering:

As the frog is croaking my N is crying.
If he doesn't come to me while the frog is alive
he should die with his next step.

Love charm with sugar cubes

In the past the women used to give advice to one another about using sugar cubes for love magic, in order to awaken love and lost passion within their husbands. As advised by elderly women a woman would rub a sugar cube on her vagina and place it into her husband's coffee. While placing the sugar cube inside the coffee she would utter the following words three times:

However sweet this coffee might be to you,
I will be even sweater to you,
veledalin amin.

She would then blow three times towards the coffee and swallow her spit.

Love oath


When a girl or a wife wants to make a love potion for her lover or husband she takes a glass of water and an empty bowl in which she will perform ritual washing of the body. This ritual is done after the woman has taken a shower, since according to folk belief love oaths (basme) have power only when they are uttered by a person with a clean body. Before she commences ritual cleansing the woman repeats the verse Ihlas five times.



N. me elif, you elif,

you were muti

whatever I'm doing you are doing

look with my eyes (wash eye lids three times)

hear with my ears (wash ears three times)

speak with my mouth (wash mouth three times)

operate with my hands (wash hands three times)

walk with my feet (wash feet three times)

veledalin amin from God amin.


The water which was used to wash the mentioned body parts is stored in a small bottle and is kept until a suitable moment when it can be poured in the lovers/husbands coffee or juice. When she completes this she then blows three times in the direction of the juice or coffee and swallows the spit in her mouth.

Blood of a dead chicken


A chicken egg is buried into horse manure and is left there for 21 days. After that the egg is dug up and in it, according to folk belief, a chicken will appear. The egg is cracked and the chicken is slaughtered with a gold coin. Using its blood one smears a body part of the person whose love one craves. Of course, this needs to be done discretely so that the person doesn't notice anything.

Love knots

To "tie" her husband to herself and secure a long common life, a woman pulls from her underpants and her husband's underpants a long thread. Then she connects them together and ties seven knots on it. Prior to any knot tying the woman repeats the prayer Ihlas and utters:
"on Friday I tied you to myself and your thoughts, kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)
"on Saturday I tied you to myself and your eyes, kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)
"on Sunday I tied you to myself and your ears, kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)
"on Monday I tied you to myself and your mouth, kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)
"On Tuesday I tied you to myself and your arms kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)
"on Wednesday I tied you to myself and your legs, kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)
"on Thursday I tied you to myself and your entire body! kaf, nun - kun" (blows into the knot)

The thread with the knots is worn for seven days on the right side of the body, in the bra, and then placed under the doorstep of the house.

Love formula for arrival

In the past when a Bosnian girl wanted to make a young man visit her using a spell, she would get into bed and repeat the following formula seven times:


I laid on seven mattresses,
onto seven sheets,
onto seven pillows
and my dear N (name) onto seven knives,
onto seven swords
and onto seven rifles - may he not be able to live,
may he not be able to breathe,
may the sun not shine on him,
until he sees me,
kisses me and comes to me!


If the formula is uttered with a lot of passion and belief, it can have a fascinating effect, namely, according to folk tales, the young man that the girl mentioned in her formula will be struck by a mysterious longing and desire to see the girl and he will immediately go to see her. If on the other hand he tries to resist the urge he will be drenched in sweat and red dots will appear on his skin.
In order to prevent the girl from casting such spells the boy has to go to her house in secret and urinate on the door hinges with which he will neutralise all her future attempts of influencing him with love magic.

Red apple and blood


A girl takes a red apple and on one part of it he carefully lifts a piece of the skin, he drips a few drops of blood from his pinkie on the left hand, and discretely returns the skin to its place. He then sprinkles the apple with a few drops of water which was used to bathe a deceased person. If the apple is eaten by a man which she desires as a lover or husband, he will quickly fall in love with her.

Ring of a dead man


A young man who wants a girl to fall in love with him takes a ring from a dead man and holding it in his hand or pocket he circles around the girl three times and then from a safe distance he looks at her through the ring and says:
As this dead man, on whose finger this ring resided, has no knowledge of anything so too N (name of the girl) shouldn't know about any other man beside me!

Bat and donkey


One of the oldest spells of Bosnian love magic is the use of bats as props for casting a spell. When it is caught, the bat is slaughtered with a golden or silver coin and a spindle is used to puncture the middle of its body, that hole is wrapped with golden threads in order to form a circle. Actually, the entire bat is wrapped with golden threads so that nothing else can be seen besides the hole in the body which will be used to look at the person whose love is desired. While the girl is looking through the body of the bat she utters: "With god's help as this bat flew through the air blind, so too you shall be blind by love towards me!"
Besides this, the brain of a donkey is often used, a piece of the brain to be exact, which is mixed into a cake or another meal and offered to the person whose love one desired. Exactly because of this spell among the Bosnian people there is a saying about a man who is overly interested into a woman: "She must have given him some donkey brain to eat!"